Category: Boxing

One of the tropes of Wild West films is the idea of the snake oil salesman. He rides into town, and promises to cure all ailments and issues with his tonic. He has no proof, aside from showmanship and bluster. Even the most cynical and worldly of townsfolk eventually succumb to his charms and part with their money, not realising they have been duped until the salesman is long gone. I couldn’t help but think about that idea as I watched Floyd Mayweather Jr and Connor McGregor go on a…

It’s been a weird few years for Kell Brook. Brook’s victory over Shawn Porter in 2014, a then undefeated American who looked as if he may become the man in the welterweight division following Floyd Mayweather’s retirement, should have been his coming out party. He was now a proven elite welterweight and the division may have been his for the taking. It also looked as if he may finally gain a domestic super fight against Amir Khan, and maybe fights against Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia. Instead, he…

Call me Ishmael. Connor McGregor fighting Floyd Mayweather is sports new white whale. The fight surfaces for air every now and then, and grizzled fight writers and fans, like Ahab aboard the Pequod, sight and, despite our better judgment, set a course for it. The fight interests and disgusts in almost equal measure. Just like the great white whale could be the death of Ahab and his whole crew, the fight could generate obscene amounts of cash yet land a telling blow to the integrity of both MMA and boxing….

The biggest, most lucrative fight of this generation will surely come on 29th April 2017 at Wembley stadium. IBF heavyweight belt holder Antony Joshua (18-0. 18 KOs) will meet Wladimir Klitschko 64-4, 53 Kos) with the vacant WBA and IBO belts also on the line. Effectively, the fight is to crown the new (almost) undisputed king of the boxing’s premier division. Watford’s Joshua is a crossover star. The Olympic gold medallists has created a huge buzz on both sides of the Atlantic due to a potent mix of talent, charisma…

November 19th sees that most rare of events. Two unbeaten, elite, pound for pound contenders in the same weight class, meeting in a squared circle. The fighters in questions are Andre ‘Son of God’ Ward, (30-0, 15 Kos) and Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs). Kovalev currently holds the WBA, IBF light heavyweight titles, whereas Ward the WBO strap, all of which will all be on the line in the T-Mobile arena on the Las Vegas strip. The fight is a mouth-watering clash of styles. Kovalev is a brutal boxer…

Boxing’s new meme is ‘dare to be great’. Bernard Hopkins, one of the game’s most eloquent and occasionally bizarre figures, popularised the term during the run up to Amir Khan’s fight against ‘Canelo’ Alverez. Canelo, of course, is a middleweight, and Khan is a welter, two weight classes lower. It seemed an absurd fight to make, with a forgone conclusion, which proved spot on – Khan, would outbox the bigger man until he ate a huge shot, and he’d be done. But it was made because two fights, which make…

A lot has rightly been written about Muhammad Ali as a cultural icon. He was certainly that, as it is part of his greatness. However, his legacy was first built on his sparkling ring career. It’s in my humble opinion that he is the greatest heavyweight of all time, and a top five pound for pound fighter in the history of the sport. Even if he had taken on largely poor opposition, his physical attributes alone put him up there, at least in his prime. He grew up idolizing the…

Big time boxing returned to Leeds arena in April. The headline act, as always, was the super popular Josh Warrington, defending his WBC international featherweight title. Warrington beat the ultra-tough, tricky Tokyo based Hisashi Amagasa over 12 rounds in front of a rabid crowd, picking up scores of 118-111, 117-111, and, ludicrously, 120-107. Warrington did win the fight, starting an ending the contest very well, but Amagasa appeared, from ringside at least, to drag himself back into the fight during the middle section. Amagasa flung unorthodox shots with his long…

He is regarded by many boxing pundits as the ‘next big thing’. Leeds born Ismail Khan is creating waves within the pugilistic sport and has already created quite a stir after winning the 52kg Senior Elite English Title Belt against Hull ABC’s Ryan Gibbons in February. Khan, who wants to continue in the footsteps of current British boxing sensation Amir Khan, is a former Cleckheaton Boxing Academy who recently joined the KBW Boxing Gym in Dewsbury With his baby faced looks, Khan can easily be described as the next ‘Baby-Faced…

Of all the mega fight of recent years, Khan vs Canelo is the most left field. It was widely expected that the Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez was due to take on Gennady Golovkin in a fight for (more or less) the unified middleweight title. Khan, after missing out on the big names of Mayweather Jr and Pacquiao, was expected to finally agree to a domestic dust up with Kell Brook at welterweight. Instead, with little notice, the imminent fight was announced raking even the most knowledgeable insider by surprise….